The present invention relates generally to a golf practice device and, more particularly, to an improved golf practice device designed to help golfers improve and maintain their driving skills by realistically reproducing for them the conditions of actual play in private areas, while measuring for them the distance and accuracy of their practice drives.
The game of golf has long been a popular sport in many countries, challenging golfers to acquire and maintain skills including good form and consistency. Practice has always been necessary for playing well, and a variety of teaching and practice aids have been available in the past, including driving ranges, plastic practice balls, and home practice devices. One known practice device has a rectangular metal base with a steel rod mounted thereon for horizontal pivoting. At its free end, the rod is formed in a loop and passes between two vertically spaced steel retainers which are bolted across the front of the base. A steel yoke and a rubber ring are formed to travel along the rod, the rubber ring going ahead of the yoke. Attached to the yoke is a nylon rope which passes through the loop on the rod and has a golf ball secured to its other end. A length of stretchy cord is positioned across the back of the base, and is bolted at its ends to the corners of the base. This cord passes through the yoke. Two lengths of the same stretchy cord are positioned across the front of the base, crossed through the loop of the rod and bolted to the corners of the base. An illustration of this device is set forth in FIG. 13.
The device just described is operated by spiking the base to the ground, placing the ball a distance behind the base and driving the ball over the base. When the ball reaches the end of the rope, it pulls the yoke and the ring along the arm, stretching the back cord. If the ball has travelled at an angle, the rod pivots toward the direction of flight against the resistance of the front and back cords. When the energy of the ball has been spent by the stretching of the cords, the back cord recoils, returning the yoke to its starting position on the rod. The rubber ring stays in the position to which it was pushed, and the arm remains pivoted off-center. Thus the distance and angle of the practice drive are respectively measured by the distance the ring has travelled and by the angle the arm has pivoted.